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West Michigan school board members lobbying Congress on behalf of public education

Budget Battle.JPG

Photo of the U.S. Capitol taken on Sept. 30, 2013. Some West Michigan administrators and school board members are in Washington, D.C., this week meeting with federal officials and congressional representatives about issues affecting public education.
They are attending the National School Board AssociationÃ¢ÂÂs 41st annual Federal Relations Network (FRN) Conference, which began Feb. 2 and ends Tuesday, Feb. 4.
(Scott Applewhite AP Photo)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Kent County school board members are in Washington, D.C., lobbying lawmakers on funding and other public education issues while attending the annual National School Boards Association Federal Relations Network Conference.

The conference began Sunday, Feb. 2 and ends Tuesday. Approximately 16 school board members from Kent County are attending from the following districts: Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Rockford, Lowell, Northview, Kelloggsville, Cedar Springs, East Grand Rapids, and Kent Intermediate School District.

Members of delegation were scheduled to have dinner Monday, Feb. 3, with U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Holland. Earlier Monday, the group met with Shelly Lachman, domestic policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden at The White House.

On Tuesday, Michigan board members are slated to attend a breakfast with Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing. Kent leaders later will meet separately with U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township and Huizenga. Roberto Rodriguez, special assistant to the president for education policy and GRPS graduate, will also meet with board members, as well as and education policy adviser for House Speaker John Boehner.

School funding remains a major concern for local districts. School leaders want to see full funding for mandates such as for Title I , which offers additional academic support to disadvantaged students and Individuals with Disabilities Ave (IDEA) for special education students. Federal education funding does approach pre-sequestration levels in a two-year federal appropriations bill that passed in December.

"This is about educating your legislators because they need to hear the stories from the people in school districts seeing it everyday," said Grand Rapids school board member Jon O'Connor, who is attending the conference with fellow board member the Rev. Nathaniel Moody and board president Wendy Falb.

"Those funds are very important for districts to be able to support students. The impact is even bigger for districts serving a larger population of students living in poverty."

Prior to the budget agreement, Ron Koehler, assistant superintendent for organizational and community Initiatives for KISD, said Title I funding was reduced by $725 million and IDEA by $580 million. He said the agreement put Title I at $13.8 billion and IDEA $10.9 billion, slightly below their 2008 levels, which means district's cost are not being fully covered.

Another issue board members are pushing is the reauthorizing of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or No Child Left Behind.

“Our schools are sort of in a state of limbo trying to pass education policy,” said Koheler, who said there are competing visions for what reauthorization looks like in Washington. “Growth measures are important, not just measuring proficiency but growth.”

KISD and the workforce development community also have concerns about changing how the federal Perkins Career and Technical Education grants are distributed.

Currently, Koehler said it is a formula-based program in which funds are distributed to all districts based on the students served. However, he said the proposal is to make it a competitive grant, which means districts would not be guaranteed funding.

For example, KISD uses the funding for academic support and professional development for teachers. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) consultants work with teachers to infuse STEM into the curriculum in way that makes math and science more interesting to students.

The ultimate goal of FRN advocacy is to make public education a top priority of the federal government.